Commissioner Dave Cecutti waited for the worst along with other Ohio Capital Conference
administrators Tuesday night.

When voters rejected a property tax that was a last-ditch effort to save sports and other
extracurricular activities at South-Western City Schools, they moved on with a contingency plan
they began discussing months ago.

"The ideal scenario for all of us would have been for the levy to pass," Cecutti said, "but the
reality is you have to anticipate the best and prepare for the worst. We're ready to move on to
Plan B."

The most pressing matter is completing a football schedule that excludes the four South-Western
high schools: Grove City, Central Crossing, Franklin Heights and Westland.

To do so, the OCC will replace conference games against the South-Western schools with games
between teams among the 28 remaining schools.

Principals and athletic administrators have mostly agreed on the details, but during their last
meeting June 23, they opted to wait for the vote before completing it. They'll now meet Friday.

Cecutti said only the logistics in week eight are being discussed. His contingency plan had
Olentangy Orange playing at Upper Arlington and Worthington Kilbourne playing at Gahanna.

Because of their proximity, Kilbourne and Orange had hoped to meet. Also, Kilbourne and UA are
already scheduled to play in week five, so they don't want to meet twice. And because Orange is a
second-year school, it may be overmatched against a traditional power such as Upper Arlington.

A different scenario, however, would force Gahanna or Upper Arlington to give up a home game,
leaving one with an unbalanced schedule.

"From ours and Upper Arlington's standpoint, I don't think either of us care that much who we
match up with," Gahanna athletic director Justin Sanford said. "The bottom line is we can't afford
to give up a home game because, let's face it, football carries the bill for the rest of the
athletic department.

"When you put everything in perspective, we all should be thankful we have opponents for those
open dates. We have to do what's right for our league members. We'll work things out."

Cecutti said a contingency schedule for other fall sports -- including boys and girls soccer,
girls tennis and volleyball, cross country and golf -- already has been completed.

In the winter, scheduling in boys and girls basketball poses less complicating but different
challenges, he said.

South-Western City Schools has until Aug. 20 to determine whether it will attempt to put a
measure on the November ballot.

"I'm looking at things in three levels," Cecutti said. "Short-range is the football schedule,
and we almost have that licked. Mid-range is completing basketball, other winter sports and spring
sports.

"There's also a long-term issue of what we're going to do to balance the OCC now that it appears
we're going to be losing four members."

Without the South-Western high schools, the Central Division loses two members (Central
Crossing, Westland) and the Capital and Ohio one apiece (Franklin Heights, Grove City). The
Cardinal Division is the only one still with eight schools.